Our Road is Hard, But Not Alone
by TheGirlWhoRemembers
Summary: After the events of Paris, Riley's family gathers around her. Or, Jack goes daddy-on-the-porch-with-a-shotgun from a distance, Matty understands, there is womanly solidarity, and Mac and Bozer are the best brothers a girl could ask for. Tag to 3.21, Treason and Heartbreak and Gum.


AN: Spoilers for 3.21, Treason + Heartbreak + Gum, both in the story and my AN at the end.

* * *

**RILEY'S RESIDENCE**

**THE DAY **_**AFTER**_

* * *

'…hey, kiddo, what's up?' Jack, a grin on his face, despite the circles under his eyes and the strain Riley could practically _feel_ emanating off him, looked up at her from her phone screen. As he took in her expression (and honestly, probably the messy hair and PJs), his expression changed, turning deadly. 'Oh, Ri…he _didn't_.'

Riley gave a bitter half-snort.

'He did.'

Jack looked _furious._ He raised a fist into view, in a way that tugged at her heartstrings, because it was so very _Jack._

'Well, then Colton or not, he better watch out, 'cause I'm getting on the next plane to Louisiana to kick his butt seven ways to Sunday!' Jack said that as if he _so, so_ wished that he could, with enough of a determined, stubborn, Jack-Dalton note in it that Riley felt if she asked, really, truly asked, he'd drop everything to really go force-feed Billy knuckle sandwiches, Kovac and taskforce be damned. '…then I think I'll feed him to a sarlacc.' Jack paused. 'Or a tiger-bear, your choice, Ri. You know, just to make sure he really gets it.'

She gave a fond, exasperated little smile and shook her head, wiping her eyes.

(The tears weren't for Billy, not really. They were because as amazing as the rest of her family was, as amazing they had been for her lately, as amazing as she knew they'd always be…the one man she'd always counted on wasn't there. _Couldn't_ be there.)

'And where're you gonna _find _that tiger-bear, Jack? Or the _sarlacc_?'

He adopted a mock-affronted look.

'This is the whole _you-not-buying-my-100%-accurate-account_ again, isn't it? I told you, I fought him deep in the woods of Estonia! Exact location's classified, though. And I just gotta get our boy onto rigging up a Millennium Falcon, it'll take him, like, three days, and then we can all go on a family road-trip to a galaxy far, far away…'

* * *

**PHOENIX FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS**

**THREE DAYS **_**AFTER**_

* * *

'Riley?'

Matty's voice stopped the young woman as she filed out of the war room after debrief, Bozer and Mac heading out first, arguing about something they'd done when Mac was twelve, an eye-rolling Desi following.

'Yes, boss?'

Matty gave a little smile, and gestured for her to take a seat, which she did, head tilting a little to the side. Matty sat down on the coffee table facing her.

'I wanted to tell you that you did a great job in Paris. You got two very dangerous people off the streets, and the intel we've gotten is going to save a lot of lives.'

The way Matty looked at her, she _knew._

But at the same time, her words were genuine. They weren't said because Riley needed comforting, but they were said as a _reminder, _an _acknowledgement._

That she had done the hard thing, but the right thing, putting the mission first. Done what she had to do.

(Once upon a time, this sort of thing might have irked Riley.)

(Then again…given the _understanding _in Matty's eyes…maybe it never would have.)

The hacker gave a little nod, a small smile.

'Thanks, Matty.'

Matty nodded, smile widening a little, before she picked up her tablet.

'Director Huang from the CIA wanted to request your assistance with upgrading his cybersecurity…'

Work.

Something to focus on.

Something she enjoyed.

Something she was really, really good at.

A purpose. A direction.

That helped too.

* * *

**RILEY'S RESIDENCE**

**THREE DAYS LATER**

* * *

'…just saying, not_ only_ was he a dick, he was also really dumb.'

Desi, sitting in an armchair with her feet up on Riley's coffee table, took another spoonful of flourless chocolate cake (courtesy of Bozer, along with chocolate mousse, chocolate lava cake and double choc-chip cookies), dipped it into her bowl of chocolate ice-cream (made with liquid nitrogen, courtesy of Mac) and took a bite after she finished speaking.

Leanna, sitting on the hacker's other side on the couch, nodded in agreement, filling up Riley's wineglass with more of the very good vintage Desi had brought along with her.

What kind of man decided to cheat on his girlfriend, who was a badass who worked for a secret spy organization and could delete his entire existence with a few keystrokes?

Let alone did that when he had a mama (the scariest woman south of the Mason-Dixon line) who would never give him a slice of buttermilk pie again if she found out, and when the lady had a dad who could literally kill him a dozen ways (and then would feed him to a ridiculous fictional predator)?

(Plus the boss who was more terrifying than she was short, a pair of protective brothers – one of whom could do just about anything with a paperclip and a stick of gum – and seriously badass girlfriends, all of whom had her back?)

(Desi's job was to protect them all, after all. She hadn't expected dumb, dick exes to be part of the brief, but here they were.)

(Besides, she'd had her share of them. She did have _some_ sense of sisterly solidarity. She'd been in the Army, Special Forces, she'd graduated Ranger school, after all. There was a degree of sticking together for the few women who'd been there alongside her.)

Riley took a sip of her wine, and grabbed another chocolate truffle from the box Leanna had brought over.

'Oh, yeah.'

She said it with that quite-universal, just-post-break-up, _what did I see in him_ tone.

Leanna swiped the last of the chocolate lava cake, then jumped up and headed into Riley's room, grabbing a shimmery silver dress from her closet. She pointed at the dress with a smile.

'You ready to go out and have some fun?'

Desi leaned back in her seat.

'The _all men are trash _bit gets old. We're strong, independent women…' She smiled that little smile of hers. '…and dancing and drinking are way more fun than moping.' Desi gave a smirk. 'So come on, Davis, get up off the couch.'

Riley smiled at the Vietnamese-American woman, springing to her feet.

'Trust me, I don't need convincing.'

* * *

**MACGYVER'S RESIDENCE**

**A COUPLE HOURS LATER**

* * *

'…_no_, Jack, I am not going to Louisiana to transmogrify Billy into a blobfish and repeat the Football Stadium Incident on his house.' Mac addressed his partner, who was on his laptop screen, who was crossing his arms stubbornly as he attempted to convince Mac to do what he couldn't. The blonde thwacked the pizza dough he was kneading, and shot his hopeful-looking best friend a_ look. _'And no, Boze isn't going to do it either.' Mac spread his hands, which were covered in dough and flour, as wide as he could. 'You promised Riley.'

Bozer looked a little put-out, muttering something about how nobody put Ms Riley Davis in the corner, but nodded and sighed.

Riley wanted to move on, and because they were her friends, her family, they were gonna do everything they could to help, rather than seeking out petty revenge on her ex.

Mac turned back to Jack on the laptop screen.

'She's going to be fine, Jack. More than fine. Riles is strong, and she's got you, me, Boze, Matty, Leanna and even Desi. I think.' Mac shrugged. She was confusing and hard to read and gave him whiplash, sometimes. 'She and Leanna are taking Riley out tonight.'

Bozer chipped in as he stirred his homemade tomato sauce on the stove, then went back to grating up his special, five-cheese blend, to go with the sausage, bacon and pepperoni to go on the pizza bases Mac was preparing.

'She's in the whole _all men are trash, _girl-power stage right now.'

Mac rolled the pizza dough into a ball, then set it in an oiled bowl to rise.

'That seems to be an obligatory stage…'

He said that in a way that sounded vaguely like an anthropologist keen to investigate some bizarre foreign custom he did not quite understand, which made Jack and Bozer exchange a fondly exasperated look behind his back.

* * *

**FIVE HOURS LATER**

* * *

Mac, an eyebrow mildly raised, held his front door open as a very clearly tipsy Riley and Leanna, both in dresses and heels, walked in, giggling to one another about something. They saw Bozer in the kitchen, pulling pizzas out of the oven in his _Kiss the Cook _apron, and dissolved into more giggles.

Desi, who was decidedly far more sober, followed the two of them in, carrying, of all things, a go-bag, which clashed with her dress (a little black one, rather than the red lace) and heels.

That made Mac raise his eyebrow further. Desi just cocked an eyebrow at him in response.

'Be prepared? Weren't you a Boy Scout?'

* * *

**AN HOUR AFTER THAT**

* * *

Bozer wrapped an arm around Leanna, who had changed into a pair of his sweats and an old T-shirt of his, leading her to bed in his room.

Meanwhile, Mac carefully picked up a snoring Riley, now clothed in another pair of Bozer's sweats, one of his T-shirts and one of Mac's flannels, and shifted her from the armchair to his bed.

(She'd appreciate it, he reckoned, given the hangover she was sure to have in the morning. He had an air mattress he could use somewhere in the garage, he was pretty sure, and if he fell asleep on the floor with his head on the coffee table, or in the armchair, it wouldn't be the first time anyway.)

On his way back, he grabbed a spare blanket and a pillow for Desi, and put them on the couch next to her, a little awkwardly.

He took a step back, and then glanced at his new partner, shifting his feet slightly and gesturing at her outfit, even more awkwardly.

'Would you, uh, like to borrow some clothes? I mean, that looks nice, but it can't be very comfortable, and if you're going to sleep…'

Mac trailed off, kicking himself internally for being really awkward.

Desi seemed to agree with the awkward, because she arched an eyebrow at him, but shook her head and gestured to her go-bag.

'Thanks, Mac, but I came prepared.'

'Oh. Right. Yeah. Of course.' _Great, MacGyver. Just great._ 'Well, um, if you need anything, I'll be, uh…' He pointed at the ceiling. 'In the attic. Probably. Or possibly the garage. Good night.'

Desi nodded slowly.

'Night, Mac.'

* * *

**THE NEXT MORNING**

* * *

The first thing Desi was aware of was the smell of French toast. Really good French toast.

The second thing she became aware of was the fact that there was French toast literally in front of her face, dangling from a fishing rod.

She sat up, and the toast was pulled back rapidly, and looked over the back of the couch at Bozer, who was holding the fishing rod.

Desi arched an eyebrow at him, and Bozer held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

'Hey, you could kill me with, like, your pinkie, and sometimes, honestly, I still think you might!'

* * *

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Mac was making coffee using his DIY coffee maker, which looked a bit like a piece of scientific equipment and a bit like something that belonged in Bozer's steampunk films.

He smiled at Riley, whose hair was very rumpled, as she emerged from his room. She also looked a bit like death warmed over (even worse than she had on that mission in France when she and Bozer and he and Leanna had gone undercover as honeymooners, which was really saying something), which made his smile turn more wry. Mac slid a cup of coffee (made exactly how she liked it) over to her. Riley drank half of it, _then _smiled back him. Mac's smile widened, and he got to work making cups for Leanna and Desi.

* * *

Desi accepted her cup of coffee gratefully as Bozer went to wake his snugglebear with more of his French toast.

In hindsight, no wonder they'd gotten under her skin, despite her best attempts.

She'd always had a soft spot for animals, and who could resist adorable puppies?

* * *

AN: Because Team as Family gives me life. Also, Mac is totally a Golden Retriever, and Bozer is the black Lab that's always by his side! A blobfish is the ugliest fish in the world, and for those who don't know, a sarlacc is an animal from _Star Wars_; in _Return of the Jedi, _Boba Fett is eaten by one.

Thoughts on the ep – between that one, and the previous ep, I feel like _MacGyver _has fallen into the Twilight Zone…

I don't know, several things irked me about that ep (and the previous), mostly regarding characterization. On the plus side in this ep, Jim and Desi were back to what I feel is the 'right' stage of character development and being in-character. Jim was tough, cool and business/greater-good focused, but showed he had a heart in there without being a complete and utter irrational softie. Desi was softer and friendlier than when she was introduced, but she also had her doubts on Matty's judgement, and was her snarky, prickly, blunt, badass self, rather than acting like a silly teenage girl with a crush on Mac (the little bit at the end where she pays him a sort-of backhanded compliment and swats him rather hard in the arm – while potentially shippy, I think was in-character; behaviour like that is probably what they've got to build up with if they're going to do Mac/Desi, rather than what happened last ep). I had no issues with Mac or Bozer in this ep; they acted exactly like how you'd expect Mac and Bozer to act (although aside from that bit at the end in which Mac comforts Riley, neither of them were particularly interesting or did much – that wasn't mission-y anyway – in this ep; it clearly wasn't one about them). At first, I was a bit like _Matty is going to commit TREASON? _– but Meredith Eaton sold it well and they did a good job, plot-wise, with making it in-character. (I 100% buy that Matty would task the team – on a volunteer basis, but knowing they'd all go – to save Deena and Mara, who are complete innocents. I also buy her making a deal with the CIA director and taking a calculated risk…and regretfully putting Ethan in jail at the end of it.) Ethan was a bit…well, at the start, I just thought he was an ass, honestly, and also mad and stupid and OOC – okay, he said he'd try to warn the CIA operatives undercover, and he really does love his family, of course, but at the same time…this is a man who spent eight years undercover for the CIA, who gave up his potential family with Matty for his country, who collected intel even while knowing he couldn't send it to keep his wife and daughter safe…and he's going to commit treason to save his family without thinking up a potential alternative or alternatives? (Perhaps he knew Matty would have one or two, which is partly why he went to her? Or perhaps I'm too harsh on him…I'm not a parent, and I know it changes you…) I take no issue with Mama Colton, and I think Riley was seriously awesome in the ep (heartbroken, but mission-focused in the field, then breaking down afterwards and wanting Jack and being so, well, noble and not petty and taking the high road with Billy while absolutely shutting him down? Go girl!), but seriously, Billy? Not only was it a dick move, but I also think it was OOC. Billy Colton was raised by _Mama. _He's met Jack, Mac, Bozer and Matty. He is well aware that Riley is a damn badass woman. He would then go cheat on her, stupidly hand her his phone and then pretend as if nothing is happening when she makes it pretty damn obvious? What the hell? He is not stupid, and if Mama ever found out, she'd whoop his ass six ways to Sunday, then hand him over to Riley! Has he been possessed? Is this really all some bizarre bad-guy plot? Overall, both plotlines felt a bit too forced, like they wanted the characters to go through this, so made it happen at the cost of 'reasonable behaviour'.

To be fair, once I got over these hang-ups, the ep itself was pretty good. Our regular cast acted particularly well, I think, and managed to sell some of the somewhat-doubtful moments very well. And I did enjoy it. Mac and Riley's little scene at the end (and to a lesser extent, the one with Matty and Jim), although cheesy as all hell, did remind me why I fell in love with this show – Team as Family, and the genuine love the characters have for each other and express (plus adorable, awkward, cheesy-and-corny-in-normal-people, emotionally-supportive-in-a-very-Mac-way Mac…).

In general, despite the fact I've enjoyed the ride, I think Season 3 has been their weakest season yet. 3.20 and 3.21 in particular have had issues, in my opinion. I do wonder, now, if maybe it'd be better if the show didn't get renewed…you know, go out on a high. (Or a relative one, anyway.)


End file.
